In early May, it was revealed that human remains had been identified and reported to authorities in Tucson, Arizona. Given the fact that the bones were found just 15 miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home in the area, the discovery understandably led to speculation about whether they were connected to the case.
Police sources were quick to point out, however, that the remains would be examined to ensure that they were human remains and to determine the timescale of when the person they belonged to passed away. Preliminary results indicated that these bones were not connected with the Nancy Guthrie case and no criminal investigation was necessary.
Human Remains Could Be 1,000 Years Old
GettyAccording to an anthropologist, the discovered human remains could be hundreds of years old and may even date back around 1,000 years. James T. Watson, who was one of the experts who was called to the scene after the bones were discovered, recently spoke to Fox News Digital and explained exactly what had been found.
According to Watson, who is also a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. experts uncovered an entire human skeleton when they examined the remains, which they estimated to be between 500 to 1,000 years old. The fact that they were found near a known archeological site and close to several ceramic artifacts suggests that they are from a native American. The remains have now been transferred to the Tohono O’odham Nation at the nearby reservation
“All of that contextual evidence allowed me to be pretty sure that this individual was in fact Native American,” Watson explained. “The ceramics really sort of drove home that point.”
The anthropologist went on to reveal that it is not unusual for bodies to be found in this area. “The desert there is a pretty harsh environment, and obviously it’s been settled for hundreds, thousands of years,” he added. “There are literally probably hundreds of bodies that are discovered every year out in the desert.”
Watson continued, “There [are] a lot of places [where] an individual could get lost or pass away — or hide a body. I think … as people start to poke into some of these crevices that don’t normally get poked into across the desert, they’re likely to find more individuals.”
Nancy Guthrie Investigation Continues Following Her Disappearance in February
GettyThe remains were initially found by a member of the public who was conducting a private search in the hopes of discovering information that could help the Nancy Guthrie investigation. The mother of journalist and broadcaster Savannah Guthrie has been missing since she disappeared from her home in early February.
June 1 marked the four month anniversary of her disappearance and with no clear breakthroughs in the investigation, some members of the public have begun to speculate that the case is now likely to be considered a cold case.
That isn’t necessarily true, according to former FBI special agent Jason Pack. The retired law enforcement officer provided an update in an interview with Parade.
“Four months in, cases like this don’t go cold, they go quiet,” Pack said. “That’s a very different thing. Investigators are still working, still following threads, and frankly still waiting on someone to make a mistake or a decision to come clean.”
“At four months, investigators are doing two things simultaneously. They’re going back to the beginning with fresh eyes, reexamining every piece of evidence, every interview, every tip that may have looked insignificant in the first weeks,” Pack shared.
He added, “And they’re watching. Watching finances, watching communications, watching behavior. Because four months is a long time to keep a secret, and people start to crack. They make calls they shouldn’t make, they spend money they can’t explain, they act nervous when there’s no reason to be nervous.”
Her “daughter’ is Savannah
Its been like 6 months. She wouldn’t be bones yet. But they are running out of time to comb the desert with cadaver dogs.